They'll be lucky if this deal passes with so much dissention in both camps.

Interesting how both sides can be so near, yet so far. Part of the trappings of an extended battle.

Click to expand...

It seemed hopeless for the NFL too. But a couple of "heroes" stepped up (the Patriots owner and I think the Giants owner and the players were reasonable) and the season was saved. It could happen in the NBA too but who are the possible "heroes" on the owner's side? Will the players accept a "reasonable" offer instead of cutting off their noses to spite their faces? The NFL players and owners camps were filled with dissension at one time too. Their is hope, but I don't think the NBA will get it together even though they could if they really wanted to do so.

My understanding of the process is that the talks have been dominated by the players who have the most to lose so far and when it gets to everyone else they will vote it in. The average players will not be affected much at all by this new deal but it will really seriously cramp the 20mil/year contracts.

My understanding of the process is that the talks have been dominated by the players who have the most to lose so far and when it gets to everyone else they will vote it in. The average players will not be affected much at all by this new deal but it will really seriously cramp the 20mil/year contracts.

Click to expand...

Sounds about right. The question that remains is....How much leverage do the top 50 salaried players have over the plebians of the league?

Sounds about right. The question that remains is....How much leverage do the top 50 salaried players have over the plebians of the league?

Click to expand...

Quite a bit I am sure. Figure the top 50 are the ones who influence who is and who is not on their team. But the avg NBA career is what 3-5 years? So losing even one year is huge. We will see what happends if they have the guts to put it up for a player wide vote.

Hunter has also asked each player rep to contact their teammates so they can act on their behalf. Sources say that's because the union will decide at Monday's meeting whether to formally reject the NBA's offer or present it to the full union membership of roughly 450 players for a vote, with a simple majority required to approve the deal.

In my mind the players are not looking at all the facts. They are arguing over revenue sharing percentages over the life of the contract. Getting 50% is alot better than getting nothing in a lost season and likely taking less if the season is lost. The average player would lose more money in salary in one season than they would gain with the extra 3% in revenue sharing they are demanding they must have. I think at the end of the day the Union has been posturing so much that ifthey take the deal the owners have on the table as-is they feel they will be labeled losers in the eye of the public.

I personal was hoping for a hard salary cap. The NBA needs to level the playing field and if they truely want to grow they need a business model like the NFL. You can't have a league where 25 out of 32 teams when the season starts don't have a chance to win a championship or even compete for one.

I personal was hoping for a hard salary cap. The NBA needs to level the playing field and if they truely want to grow they need a business model like the NFL. You can't have a league where 25 out of 32 teams when the season starts don't have a chance to win a championship or even compete for one.

Click to expand...

You are absolutely 100% correct. A hard cap would benefit all small/mid-market teams like the Pistons. It will force the large market teams to make tough choices like Joe D has had to make over the years to stay out of lux tax zone. Plus it would drive down contract prices so you can have a better chance of keeping a team intact. Maybe we could have kept guys like Okur and Mike James.

IMO the league is taking its position on the world stage for granted. International basketball has made serious inroads on the USAs historical monopoly on professional basketball. A lower rookie salary cap will kill international drafting and we've virtually strip-mined college basketball. If there was no ruling on age limits, we'd be plucking people out of highschool.
As talent stays home in Europe and Asia, they get stronger. There is still untapped potential in foreign markets...room for basketball to grow. Here, its like 3rd banana in an oversaturated market. We are seeing the very early stages of a world market for basketball. Deron and others playing in Europe as an option to the NBA. I think it will be more than five years but less than 10 where foreign leagues will lure mid level free agents out of the league or take mid first rounders out of opting for the draft.

This will especially hurt the small market teams. Why? because a small market is a small market and no cap can change that. All that does is increase the importance on endorsement income or other income that cannot be controlled by the team itself.

I went through a CBA for my organization and it was demoralizing. If you are on the outside looking in, you could say the same things people are saying about NBA players: where do you get this sense of entitlement to having 2 cars, cable TV and college money for your kids when my family is getting evicted from my home for failing to pay my mortgage? From our side, we see the waste and mismanagement; the indulgence of the executive class and we ask: why is this coming out of our hides? Labor makes up 75% of all operating expenses. Its an easy target.

The labor pool for the NBA is fixed. You cannot post job opportunities and get a list of candidates to choose from. Those 200 odd players are not interchangeable with other people. Look at the talent gap for the NBDL. We can, and have, drawn talent from other leagues. The same can be done to us.

The NBA needs to level the playing field and if they truely want to grow they need a business model like the NFL. You can't have a league where 25 out of 32 teams when the season starts don't have a chance to win a championship or even compete for one.

Click to expand...

This isn't conclusive. Look at the English Premier League which is one of the absolutely most successful leagues in the world and they only have 4/20 teams (more like 3 nowadays) with a realistic shot at the championship.

This isn't conclusive. Look at the English Premier League which is one of the absolutely most successful leagues in the world and they only have 4/20 teams (more like 3 nowadays) with a realistic shot at the championship.

Click to expand...

It is not the best example: soccer in Europe and especially in England is more than a holy cow. There are avid, generation from generation followers even for lower soccer leagues.

....and the gap between title contenders and "we're eying champions league spot" is widening. Very quickly.

It is not the best example: soccer in Europe and especially in England is more than a holy cow. There are avid, generation from generation followers even for lower soccer leagues.

....and the gap between title contenders and "we're eying champions league spot" is widening. Very quickly.

Click to expand...

The EPL isn't hugely successful because of the domestic fans who roots for Wrexham, Doncaster and Halifax Town, it's hugely successful because of all the international fans who roots for teams like Man United and Liverpool.

Well, it looks like the NBA will be on hold for at least a year.. I truly believe the players made a HUGE mistake and will lose a ton of money they will never get back. I am specifically talking about the average bench player (who only lasts 3-5 years) and the veterans (i.e. Billups, who just lost about $16mm).

There was never any doubt that the owners would get what they want or the season would be lost, let's face it, he who controls the purse strings controls the power.. On a side note, would it really bother anybody if they just brought up the development league players? Outside of the superstars, I don't see a lot of difference between the skill difference

To those of you who watched basketball during the Bird, Magic, Bad Boy and Jordan era, do you remember when a player would miss a jump shot (even with 5 players hanging on them) you would look around to the people watching with you like "how did they miss that?". Now a days, when a player hits a wide open jump shot you look at the people watching with you, high 5ing and saying "wow what a great shot". My point, the league has become unwatchable. There is no doubt in my mind, none of the current NBA teams could compete in the 80s and early/mid 90s. I bet Scott Hastings, in his prime, could start on half the teams in the league right now.

For the last 15 years the NBA had a talent problem, now they have a labor issue to deal with. To David Stern, the owners and players.. Good luck!! When it is all said and done all of you will lose $$$$ and most of it will be a result of disinterested fans finding different ways to spend their money on a form of entertainment that doesn't include the initials N.B.A.

Idiots. They finally agree on BRI and still can't make a deal? NBAPL did not even put it up for a general vote - player reps decided to reject and go to court with the agents spurring them on. Then we have Stern issuing threats and deadlines which are not helping. Some of the owners seem intent on cancelling the season no matter what.